Missing fishing boat captain has arrest warrant

Article by: TERRY COLLINS

Associated Press

August 5, 2014 - 4:05 PM

SAN FRANCISCO — A missing captain who may have abandoned his fishing boat when it got stranded off a popular San Francisco beach also has an outstanding warrant for his arrest, authorities said Tuesday.

A $75,000 arrest warrant was issued in 2012 for Timothy Lybrand of Santa Cruz when he violated probation by failing to appear in court, records say. He was arrested and convicted for possessing drugs and drug paraphernalia in 2010, Santa Clara County sheriff's Sgt. Kurtis Stenderup said.

The revelation comes a day after the Coast Guard called off its hourslong search for Lybrand, 51, after scouring an area around San Francisco's Ocean Beach where his 40-foot vessel ran aground in 10-foot-deep waters.

A salvage operations team pulled the partially capsized boat close to shore Tuesday but did not see Lybrand inside, Lt. Theo Vaughan said.

There are no plans to continue looking for him, "unless we get additional information that he's in the water," Vaughan said.

The captain apparently made a call from his vessel to other nearby boaters asking for help around 3:30 a.m. Monday — about an hour after he left shore. Lybrand intimated he would try to swim to shore wearing a life jacket, officials said.

Search crews, including the Coast Guard, the National Park Service and the San Francisco Fire Department, patrolled an 18-square-mile radius from Ocean Beach to the iconic Golden Gate Bridge to no avail.

Crews worked Tuesday to remove the boat and hoped late afternoon high tides would help propel it to shore. There was a smell of diesel fuel in the air but no visible signs of sheen in the water, Vaughan said.

Lybrand's vessel is registered with the Port of San Francisco, spokeswoman Renee Dunn Martin said. He usually fishes alone along the California coastline, she said.

Larry Collins, president of the San Francisco Community Fishing Association, said Tuesday that Lybrand has been fishing for more than 30 years.

"We're all worried. We care about him. He's a fine guy, a real good fisherman," Collins said. "We hope he ran ashore. We'd like to know if he made it."